Because the Internet evolved from the ARPAnet, a research experiment that supported the exchange of data between government contractors and (often academic) researchers, an on-line culture developed that is alien to the corporate business world. The Internet was not designed to make commercialization easy.
Transaction Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is the communications standard between hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP defines the basic format of the digital data packets on the Internet allowing programs to exchange information with other hosts on the Internet.
Domain names direct where e-mail is sent, files are found, and computer resources are located. They are used when accessing information on the World Wide Web (WWW) or connecting to other computers through Telenet. Internet users enter the domain name, which is automatically converted to the Internet Protocol address by the Domain Name System (DNS). The DNS is a service provided by TCP/IP that translates the symbolic name into an IP address by looking up the domain name in a database.
E-mail was one of the first services developed on the Internet. Today, e-mail is an important service on any computer network, not just the Internet. E-mail involves sending a message from one computer account to another computer account. E-mail is used to send textual information as well as files, including graphic files, executable file, word processing and other files. E-mail is becoming a popular way to conduct business over long distances. Using e-mail to contact a business associate can be faster than using a voice telephone, because the recipient can read it at a convenient time, and the sender can include as much information as needed to explain the situation.
With the explosive growth of all forms of electronic messaging including e-mail, voice mail, stored fax, and stored video messages the volume of information has become enormous. Sorting through the various electronic messages is time consuming and can easily be overwhelming.
When a user is unable to access the electronic messages over an extended period of time, such as over a vacation, or an out of town business trip, their mailboxes become crammed. The messages may include information about a class or meeting, which is temporal in nature. Many of the accumulated messages are no longer of value, because the information has expired. Messages that still are relevant and of value may be lost in the enormous volume.
Accordingly, there is a need for providing automatic deletion of electronic messages after their useful life has expired.